Benny Alexander, Secretary-General, Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania, PO Box 25245, Ferreiras town, 2048, S. Africa: I have distributed copies of the Indian Dalit Support Group, USA, submissions on the Gandhi Memorial in Washington DC. People are first stunned by the sheer force of truth and they are very excited to have a consistent theory on the plight of the Untouchables. (DV Oct. 16, 92 p.6: Brahminical bid to rename street after M.K. Gandhi defeated). I hope to have research done by one of our Indian brothers on the light of the Untouchables in Azania and the structure of Indian society in Azania. We do need as much material on the topic, especially on the early history of the religion of the Dalit and the first civilisation they built. Keep up the good work and we trust that we can build on the relationship in struggle we have now started.
Dr. Velu Annamalai, PO Box 842066, Houston, Texas 77284-2066, USA: I have received Dr. Arthur Bonner’s book, Averting the Apocalypse: Social movements in India Today, which I am reading now. It is interesting to note the contrast between Dr. Bonner’s book and another, India, Million Mutinies Now, by V.S. Naipaul. Even slight connection to the obnoxious brahminic religion, no matter how long ago as in the case of Naipaul whose forefathers left the shores of India over a century ago, makes the man to be not very objective about the realities of India. I have also received a copy of your MS, “Churning, the Stinking Pool”, I will contact the Clarity Press, Atlanta, about publishing it. The role played by our beloved Africans brothers and sisters at Atlanta (in particular Brother John Tremble and his wife, Sister Tendai, and Sister Sheron Davis) did a wonderful job in educating the Afro-American people living in the Atlanta Street to be named after Gandhi as well as going to the Atlanta City Council to speak against this naming episode. They only deserve all the credit – thanks and compliments from our Dalit brothers and sisters from India. This is by no means the end of the struggle but it is just the beginning of the battle. The bigger battle will be in Washington, DC where there is a proposal before the US Senate to create a memorial to Gandhi. This is a bigger and more difficult battle because of the brahminical muscle and financial power in US. I represented the Indian Dalits at a conference organised by the Caribbean Cultural Centre, New York, in Sept. I talked about our past glory with the Indus Valley Civilisation and how the Aryans through their vicious Brahminism killed our people and civilisation. I also had the privilege to speak to two Africans groups, “The First World Alliance” at Harlem, New York City, and “The African Echo’s” in Newark, New Jersey. Most of the members of these groups know already about our Dalit people thanks to our beloved Brother, Runako Rashidi, noted Black historian. These groups have promised to help us fight the Gandhi Memorial in Washington DC. While I was with the “First World Alliance”, I had an opportunity to meet representatives of “Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania (South Africa). They were very interested in Dalits. I sent them some materials including your book, DALIT, the Black Untouchables of India.
Lyord C. Honore, PO Box 2821, Fairfield, CA 94533- 0282 USA: I enjoy reading Dalit Voice very much and eagerly look forward to receiving it in the mail. It continues to be my only source of information concerning the plight of the persecuted nationalities in India. May you be blessed to continue providing this much needed service so that people in America and the rest of the world will wake up to the reality of what is happening to the dispossessed people in India.
John Peter Jr. Plankadavil, PO Box No. 2403, Abu Dhabi, UAE: I heard from Jose Palethorpe, Kumar Akom, of St. Peter’s church that the bishop and his advisers are out to sell the paddy field (kayas) at Kumar Akom, which is commonly owned by our diocese, to upper caste Christians. I heard of a conspiracy to hand over our diocese to Syro-Malabar hierarchy. I fear bloodshed in Vijayapura diocese. Liberation of the oppressed is not possible unless the church abolishes caste.
D.P. Singh, Dues Sub-station flat, B Block, East of Kailash, New Delhi-65: Congratulations for your “letter” in the Hindustan Times taking up the cause of Backward Castes in a very intellectual manner. Your assertion that economic criteria in the guise of “creamy layer” imposed by the Supreme Court is nothing but denying reservation to the BCs in a very shrewd manner by the upper castes. As there was no one to protect the interest of the BCs in the Supreme Court judiciary, upper castes have taken undue advantage of delivering a judgment which is nothing but sugar-coated poison for BCs. By advocating the “creamy layer” condition, they have ensured indirectly that quota for the BCs in the services always remains unfilled and in turn the upper castes continue to rule over the BCs permanently. Who will compete in the services from the BCs if the “creamy layer” is kept out of the reservation? In Bihar and other northern States, the BCs have been reduced to the status of slaves. There is no facility for their education even if they are economically well off. They are denied admission for one reason or the other as academic institutions are 100% managed by the oppressor upper castes. Unlike the Christians and Muslims, BCs run no educational institutions. In the villages, the hatred against the BCs is so intense that any prosperity of the BCs is not tolerated by the upper castes. If the SC/BCs acquire wealth by their own labour or by working in a city, they are subjected to dacoity and murder, rape etc. In this way, the BCs don’t enjoy even symbolic freedom and security. They always live under fear, slavery and boot of the upper caste politicians. The SC/STs have got moral reinforcement because they enjoy share in service and politics but this is not so with the BCs. The so-called “creamy layer” consists of a few people from BCs. They are those whose family migrated to the city where they did manual labour and the lucky few could get opportunity to get education under free atmosphere. Only such a section of BCs can manage to get job under reservation. Unfortunately, such people are very small in number. Vast majority of the BCs consists of uneducated, suppressed, a tortured demoralised category which means that majority of the BCs are not even remotely able to compete. BCs should, therefore, get reservations without any condition as recommended by the Mandal Commission and rightly advocated by you.
Raju Thomas, PO Box 2296, Madras – 23: I am always disturbed and worried about your safety. No Ambedkar is afraid of death, because we die once and live eternally. Cowards only die once for all. We expected the incident at Ayodhya and we welcome many more such events. We have given enough warning to the elite Muslims. They will not obey the Koran and the Hadis. The corrupt Muslim leadership could be thrown out by the revolutionary Muslim masses if only the Aryan-Hindu-Nazis brutally continue their genocide against the Muslim community. This is the way how the “Law on Contradictions” sharpens the social engineering. Gulf countries must kick out all Aryan-Hindu-Nazis but not the SC/ST/Christians/Sikhs and Indian Muslims. One lady doctor from Coimbatore, an Aryan, donated Rs. 15 lakhs for kar seva and she was kicked out from Saudi Arabia within 24 hours. Congratulations to King Fahd. Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait must take over the Kerala Muslim leadership and give a call to the Muslim masses. All Muslim countries must unitedly march towards India to protect the victims of brahminism and its custodians. Is India heading for a civil war as you had predicted some time ago? Even Albert Einstein had predicted that India will perish by itself. What the hell the Kerala Muslim League is licking and sucking the corrupt nazi shudra Karunakaran? We are sure that the Islamic volcano will erupt from the masses and all those lickers and suckers will be burnt alive in the lava.
Katti Padma Rao, Andhra Pradesh Dalit Maha Sabha, Ponnur, AP: What you have been warning all these years came true with the demolition of Babri Masjid. We have been relentlessly fighting against the forces of “Hindu imperialism”.
Mani Arasu K. Narayanaswami, HIG 24/ NH 1, Maraimalainagar, TN – 603 209: Dr. S. Ramadoss is second to none in the whole of India to sacrifice in favour of SCs and BCs. I was the secretary of the school at Madras wherein young Ramadoss had his primary education up to VIII std. He has never forgot- ten me. He offered me a general seat at Madurantakam. I was sure of winning against the richest Marwari of the State, S.D. Ugamchand. Because of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination I lost to an ADMK candidate, P. Chockalingam, a BC Vanniyar. I think you are the first who introduced the word papan out of Tamil Nadu.
Abdul Karim, 53 – Devaraj St., Madras – 5: Your predictions that bad days are ahead for Muslims has come true with the ugly act of demolition of Babri Masjid by Hindu nazis. Itis now crystal clear that PVN is hand in glove with the nazis. Instead of arresting the culprits, they arrested the DK leader Veerappan here. The Bangalore papatti came out with her true colours. Among the kar sevaks there were lots of SC/ST. These brain-washed weaker sections should be rescued by leaders like Dr. Ramadoss.
A.G. Shah, Zaindar Mohalla, Srinagar, Kashmir: There are two districts in Ladakh – Kargil and Leh. The Ladakh district has 90% Buddhists and Kargil, 95% Muslims. The Ladakh Buddhists have started a social boycott of Muslims there at the instigation of Hindu nazis who infiltrated there. Otherwise, the Buddhists used to have inter-marriages with Muslims. I wish you advise the Buddhists there to refrain from “Hindu” activities which goes against the Dalit-Buddhist interests. I get the Dalit Voice very late. I don’t know why. I wait for it as if for food.
Dr. Abdul Kareem, Extra. Fr. Samuel Peter, Madras: The Jamat-e-Islami is close to RSS. Palani Baba recently offered them bangles during riots at Triplicate here. For new Muslims they are not helpful. You are wasting your precious time and energy by trying to reform them. Please do not disappoint new converts like me. I am an ex-Rev. Father. This “Dalit Christian” is a wrong concept and by the turn of this century, Christianity will be out of the Indian scene as a religious entity. B.K. Ghatak. G-1320, CR Park, N. Delhi -19: Why the Hindus hate the Nama Sudras in Bengal? Both Brahmins and Namas perform the same religious rites, both claim they belong to Kashapgotra. Then why they hate each other in every sphere of life? Inter – dining with Namas is prohibited despite the fact that the Bengali Brahmins are not accepted by other Brahmins in India as Brahmins. As a strong and united community (Bengali Namas Brahmins call them Chandalas) they once wholesale got converted to Buddhism. After the Muslim invasion of Bengal to take the revenge against the Brahmins, a large number of Buddhists embraced Islam in Bengal. Therefore, we can conclude that Namas were the original Buddhists in Bengal. During the British rule a large nujmber of Namas embraced Christianity and the founder – father of Matua religion, Hari Chand Thakur, saved them from conversion.
Dilip Paswan, Lallupokhar, Munger, Bihar – 811 201: S.M. Doula (DV Nov.1,92) says that BSP views are different from that of Dr. Ambedkar and hence it does not “talk of conversion”. This is wrong. BSP is not only seeking the support of Muslims but striving to constitute the entire 85% SC/ST/BCs and Muslims into a Bahujan Samaj and capture Parliament.
S R Talukdar, New Delhi: I read with interest the article, “Racism in Defence Services – Upper castes keep out SC/STs” by V. Prasanna Kumar (DV Nov.1, 92). This is an eye-opener to Dalits. The reservation in defence services will open up new area of employment to SC/ST youth. Reservation is necessary because without it these candidates, however competent they may be, will always be discriminated against by the upper caste recruiting authorities. Without a proper share in the defence of our country, how can we say that we are free citizens of India?
Shyamal Kr. Biswas, Erolia, Murshidabad, WB: In response to your statement ” …. VP Singh lost his PM post for Mandal” (DV edit Oct. 16), it should say as the PM, he announced his decision on Mandal report and secretly made an agreement with Justice Ranganath Mishra, the then Judge of the Supreme Court, that Mishra would be promoted soon if he could murder the implementation of the Mandal Report, through the court. This was a secret agreement. Mishra obliged and issued a stay order and got promoted as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by VP Singh.
K Mukundan, Peruvattor, Kailand, Kerala-673 305: 1 have translated your famous book, Know the Hindu Mind, into Malayalam. In a month, we will publish it. Now, I am translating the Merit My foot. Half the job is over.
R.T. Nasalpur, Indiranagar, Chikodi-591 201: The enormous literature you have produced came to our notice only recently. It is only the DV which is disclosing the secret technique of Hindi nazis. DV has really opened our eyes and convinced us that the brahminical forces are even now pushing us down. The people on this side were not aware of you and your DV. It is only on account of the efforts of my daughter, Jeevanlata of Belgaum, the educated mass are flocking to DV. Please carry on your struggle. We are prepared to follow you.
Mohd. Yusuf Beg, ex-MP & Vice-President, Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat, Bhadohi-Varanasi, UP- 221 401: This is with reference to DV edit Oct. 16, 92: “We warn VP not to dilute Mandal but make it the sold weapon”. It has lots of worth-considering suggestions to the Janata Dal but also some misconceptions. George Fernandes is criticised for his Mandal approach. George is an old socialist having full faith in Dr. Lohia’s ideology which inspired the Mandal report. Mandal himself was an old associate of George. As the president of the HMKP, he launched a struggle to get the Mandal report implemented. It is painful to note George being described as a man of urban background and a confused man. It is only George in the Janata Dal who has some original revolutionary thinking and has the guts and ability to fearlessly express what touches his mind. However, Biju Patnaik can be called con- fused and hostile to Mandal. To criticise SR Bommel as the enemy of Mandal, merely because he is a Lingayat, shows the prejudice of the Editor. Even the Lord Buddha, the first who revolted against brahminsm, was born in an upper caste Rajput family. So too Dr. Lohia.
